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A greatly expanded Huelgas Ensemble performs here a collection of multivoice works--pieces that are often referred to but, for logistical reasons, rarely performed. Tallis's famous Spem in alium non habui for 40 voices is here, of course; so is the piece that inspired it, Striggio's 40-voice Ecce beatam lucem. Also included are two extraordinary canons: Ockeghem's 36-voice Deo gratias and Josquin's 24-voice Qui habitat--as well as relatively modest pieces for 13 to 16 voices by Porta and Gabrieli. Spem has had livelier performances (try the Tallis Scholars on Gimell), but none of the others have been recorded elsewhere at all, let alone as well as this. You're not likely to hear them in concert, either, so check this disc out. --Matthew Westphal
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15 reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Impressive
15 Jan 2000
Format:Audio CD
This recording well matches its subtitle - "The great polyphony of the Renaissance." The multi-voice works collected here are indeed the pinnacle of vocal polyphony. I don't think anybody after Tallis wrote such complex music for an unaccompanied choir. From the first listen, I was struck by the similarities between Tallis' Spem and Striggio's Ecce Beatam Lucem. Turns out, as the booklet informs, the similarities were not accidental. Striggio was first to write his 40-part motet, and it had an extraordinary success in London. Piqued, the British fired back, by charging one of their best composers, Thomas Tallis, with the rebuttal (supposedly, the request came from the Duke of Norfolk). In the spirit of competition, Tallis deliberately included audible references to Striggio into his composition. These go beyond the choice of 40 voices (in fact, as far as I know, Spem is really for 41 voices, which is the way the Tallis Scholars perform it). The two compositions also share the same base key, G, an occasional melodic quote, and the technique of accumulating polyphony, in which voices enter one by one (or choir by choir) to culminate in mighty multi-person chords. Reportedly, upon hearing Tallis' Spem, the British concluded that their side won. Actually, I think so too. But maybe that's only because I heard Spem so many times before, and Ecce Beatam Lucem is new to me. The Huelgas Ensemble sing Spem with grace and balance. Their version seems much slower than the Spem of the Tallis Scholars, even though in fact the difference is only 15 seconds in a 10-minute piece (I checked). The perception of a slower tempo must be due to the reserved approach Van Nevel takes to Spem. I must confess that I much prefer the Tallis Scholars' jubilant rendition, with the dazzling treble voices reaching up like the spires of gothic cathedrals. The structural hierarchy of the piece is also more evident with the Tallis Scholars, who must have performed in less-reverberant acoustics: the entrance of voices and the brief pauses between some movements are more effective because they are not echoed. In addition, while the Huelgas recording has a constant fizz of consonants, the Tallis Scholars swallow most consonants, in a wise recognition that no one will be able to make any sense of the words in a 40-part vocal composition anyway. Not only is the blend smoother, but the result is also more consistent with the aesthetics of the day. Of course, this is not to criticize the Huelgas Ensemble, it's just my opinion. Of the other pieces on this disc I especially enjoyed Ockeghem's amazing 36-part canon Deo Gratias. Almost without varying the two-word canon, Ockeghem manages to sustain the listener's attention over a period of six minutes by manipulating the number and combination of singing voices. The disc also includes Giovanni Gabrieli's 16-part Exaudi me Domine. The group probably didn't know of the existence of Gabrieli's 33-part Magnificat, which would have been a nice addition to this disc. You can hear it on Music for San Rocco/McCreesh, Archiv 449 180-2.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Outstanding recording
9 Feb 2000
Format:Audio CD
To clarify a previous reviewer, the Spem in Alium is for 40 voices (8 sopranos, 8 altos, 8 tenors, 16 basses) despite the fact that the Tallis Scholars used 41 singers (they doubled up on a soprano part which is surprising since the sopranos already completely dominate the sound in that recording). I personally prefer hearing audible consonants as in this recording because it allows one to hear the intricate rhythm of the piece ... it would be somewhat uninteresting to simply hear waves and waves of vowels as in the case of the Tallis Scholar recording. It is true the Hueglas Ensemble recording of the Spem has some understated sections but the voices are balanced and the singing is natural.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
rare and beautiful
3 Feb 1999
Format:Audio CD
Sony chose the rational way of recording these large polyphonic works: singers arranged in a large circle around the microphone hovering above the center. I disagree with a previous reviewer who said that the Tallis recording of Spem is more inspiring. The Tallis recording is terrible: ugly inbalance in the voices and the feeling that the Tallis Scholars were sight reading the Spem. The Huelgas Ensemble ... wow, the voices are very balanced - the high soprano lines float above the choir rather than suffocating the other 32 voices as in the Tallis Scholar recording; and it sounds like they really took the time to rehearse. All the pieces on here make great listening (esp the Porta for 14, Gabrieli for 16, and Tallis for 40 voices) except possibly the Manchicourt motet because it is for a mere 6 voices. There are a few sections that I felt were a little understated; but on the rarity of the pieces and the great singing and sound, 5 stars.
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